New XXXTentacion Song Released Days After Confession Tape Surfaces

Earlier this week, a tape of XXXTentacion confessing to domestic abuse and other violent crimes that was secretly recorded years prior to his murder in June was obtained by Pitchfork. The revelation hasn’t, however, slowed down his career. Today Lil Pump, a friend of X’s, has gone ahead with releasing their first-ever collaboration, “Arms Around You,” co-produced by Skrillex and featuring Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee and reggaetón singer Maluma. It’s an inevitable hit right on trend with the crop of Latin-lite club tracks that have risen on the charts over the last two years (think, currently, Bad Bunny and Drake’s “MIA”) that also joins two of SoundCloud Rap’s biggest names on record officially for the first time. The song generously cribs Gyptian’s “Hold Yuh,” particularly so in X’s verse in which he sings, partially in Spanish (a language he admittedly didn’t speak), about loving a woman so much that he feels compelled to “wrap me arms right around you” to “make sure no would could harm you.” Make of that what you will. Meanwhile, X has been submitted for multiple Grammy nominations and is awaiting eligibility for Best New Artist.